When Love and Loss Collide
by KatnotKath
Summary: What happens when two people, both having suffered great losses, with two very different pasts get thrown together. Does love span across realities, and how will the whole group deal with the new twists which come their way?
1. Chapter 1

**Story Title:** When Love and Loss Collide  
**Author:** KatnotKath  
**Rating: **T  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything to do with Roswell, the characters or situations. Just begging permission to borrow them to play with them.  
**Couples:** M/L with CC  
**Summary:** What happens when two people, both having suffered great losses, with two very different pasts get thrown together. Does love span across realities, and how will the whole group deal with the new twists which come their way?

**Chapter 1**

"Please Liz, you have to go, you have to keep her safe..." Max begged his girlfriend as they stood in front of the Granolith in the cave. How he knew what it was called, much less how to work it, was a complete mystery to him, but he did... He knew exactly how to get the two people that meant the most to him out of here, to save them...

Liz looked up at him through tear stained eyes. "I can't...Max please don't ask me to leave you here... I couldn't bear to lose you, I need you..." She sobbed.

Her boyfriend took hold of her arm, causing her to look up. "Liz, we're not going to get out of this..." Already he could hear the signs that his friends were beginning to fall in the battle. "We're not going to win this, it's over... I can save you though, I can make sure that you and she are safe..." He forced himself to hold her gaze. "I need to do this Liz, I need for you to go, and then I know that you'll still be there...

Another crash outside sounded as though it was threatening to cause a cave in and she looked around desperately. "Come with me then...?" She begged him. In truth she knew it wasn't going to happen, but she had to ask… She needed Max, she always had, and she always would…

He shook his head sadly. He wished he could give her what she was asking for…but he knew that he couldn't… As much as he wanted to save himself as well, as much as he wanted to have that future he had always dreamed of, he knew it wasn't going to happen… He had responsibilities… "You know that I can't do that... I can't just leave Isabel and Michael to deal with this, to face defeat...I have to stay with them..." He swallowed and reached up, wiping the tears from her eyes with his thumb. He hated to see her cry…

Things shouldn't have turned out like this… If only there had been another way… He shook his head, going over the decisions he had made over the years. "I'm sorry baby...I should have told you about all of this so much sooner, and I should never have brought you up here today..."

Liz buried her head in his chest, sobbing desperately as she clung to him, needing to feel his arms around her one more time. "It's not your fault...you didn't know..." She struggled to get out.

Max looked torn. "I know I didn't...but I should have...I should have known what she was like, and I should have done something about it in the past when I had a chance!" He stated, his hate for the girl they were talking about coming through loud and clear. He couldn't believe now that he had actually trusted her… He should have seen through her at the beginning… Instead, because he hadn't…this had happened…he had failed everyone… And now…now this was all that was left… It was over for him, over for Isabel and Michael… It didn't have to be for Liz or her though…he could save them, he could, and would…

She shook her head, she knew he would never have done that... "No...because that's not you..." She looked up at him, trying to smile although failing miserably. "You don't kill people. You save them..." She paused for a moment and then added, "Like me..."

Despite the situation, Max couldn't help giving a tiny smile as he nodded. "Yeah...like you..." He shook his head and reached up to cup her face in his hands. "I could never regret a moment, you know that don't you...? Not one second... I love you more than anything in the world, and I know it hasn't been easy, but it has been worth every struggle and difficulty..." He bit his lip, swallowing and trying not to completely lose it.

Liz nodded, her big brown eyes looking up into his. "I know..." She responded softly, hardly able to speak. She couldn't believe this was happening - well no, that was the wrong way to put it - she didn't want to believe this was happening... She drew in a ragged breath. "I wouldn't change anything about what happened either...it was perfect...always..." She struggled over the words, needing to know that he knew she had never had any doubts.

Stood there together, both were frozen, unwilling to part, knowing that this was the last time each would hold the other like this.

The sound of another blast forced Max into action again though as he gently pulled back. "You have to go...we're cutting it fine as it is..." He told her, the tears in her eyes matched by those in his. He didn't want her to go, not really...but he couldn't let her stay either... Staying would be suicide, and he had to know they had survived...

Liz could hear the urgency in his voice and it was as though the cave literally rocked from the next explosion. "What are they doing?" She asked in a shaking voice.

Her boyfriend shook his head. "I don't know Liz, but it's not important either...what is important is you and her, we have to get you out of here...please, don't fight me anymore, there's no time..."

She bit down on her lip, blinking in an attempt to stem the tears, but it was no good. She couldn't be brave, she couldn't put on a front...she needed for him to see how she felt, she needed to show him that her feelings were true... Reaching up, she traced the line of his jaw with her finger, committing every little detail to memory as she closed her eyes and then reached up.

Without even thinking about it, Max leant towards her, his lips meeting hers. They didn't have time for this really, but neither could let go of the other without saying goodbye... Without feeling that embrace, that connection, one more time...

His lips were like heaven, a soft velvet cover which she wanted to lay on. His hands were comforting and strong, and for one moment, she could imagine that everything was just back to normal... It was just them; together...

But it wasn't, and the crash which came next reminded them of it. Max pulled away, resting his finger on her lips for a moment. "Remember me...?" He requested of her.

Liz swallowed, the tears threatening to overwhelm her. She reached up, her fingers closing over his and clinging to it like a lifeline. "Always...I could never forget you..." She promised him. Bringing his finger to her lips again, she kissed it gently, fighting the desire to fling herself back into his arms. It was what she wanted, but it couldn't be... She knew what she had to do... With a trembling lip, she stepped back, her eyes never leaving Max. "I love you..." She told him in a broken voice.

He nodded. "I know baby...I love you both of you...too...I always will, in this life and beyond..." Further noises outside caused him to trail off, looking round desperately fearing the worst. Time was growing short, it was now or never... He waited until she was in position, then moved to the front of the machine, waving his hand over the base to reveal a control panel. The symbols which appeared over it looked like complete hieroglyphs, yet somehow he understood them... Although his memories of his past life were something close to non-existent, the moment he has entered the cave, something had seemed to awaken inside of him...

"MAX!"

He looked over, his heart in his throat as he saw Michael carrying Isabel into the cave.

"You don't have much time..." His friend told him, setting the unconscious figure down on the floor and looking round at the door. He had managed to seal it, just...but as soon as 'she' got here that would be pointless... This place was made for the four of them...she had just as much access as any of the others...

Max nodded. He wanted to go over, to tend to his sister, but he knew there was something more important to do first. There was no time left now to set it carefully, to make a choice as to where it would send them, but away from here was enough... Quickly pressing the buttons needed, he looked over and watched as Liz appeared, seemingly inside the Granolith now. He saw the clock light up, counting down the seconds, and moved forward, touching his hand against the surface.

Liz did the same, fitting hers over his through the glass. "I love you...always..." She told him, and then was gone...

Max's hand slid down the smooth surface as he dropped to the floor… "I'm sorry…I'm sorry for everything…" He whispered softly, from the empty space that had been occupied by Liz a moment earlier to where Michael was stood tending to Isabel. He swallowed and forced himself up into a standing position, scrambling over to the two of them as the cave was rocked by another blast.

"How much longer…?" Isabel asked weakly, her eyes fluttering as she drifted in and out of consciousness. She reached out with her hand for her brother, needing him…

He shook his head. "I don't know Izzy…I don't know…" He took her hand, squeezing it and making a connection. He was about to try and repair the damage done, but turned as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Michael shook his head. "Don't…she'll only be in more pain that way…"

Max swallowed and nodded, realising that he was right… Instead, he pressed a kiss to the top of his sister's head, and allowed her to pass away as peacefully as possible.

"You did what you could man…" Michael told him, looking at his friend before turning back to the cave entrance. It wouldn't be long now…

"I wish I could believe that…I should have done better, for all of you…" Max responded. He shook his head and slipped to the floor. "It shouldn't have been like this…" He repeated over and over even as the roof of the cave fell in….


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Max..." Isabel knocked on the door softly before pushing it open. She bit her lip as her gaze fell on the figure of her brother. He was sat on the bed, staring down at a frame which he held in his hands. "Max...are you okay...?" She asked gently, walking over and taking a seat next to him on the bed. She reached out to touch his hands.

Max looked up, almost surprised as though he hadn't heard her come in. In fact, he probably hadn't she knew... The last month since... Well, since the FBI had caught up with them in Bridgeport... To tell the truth, none of them had been the same since then...not that it was surprising...

Since leaving Roswell, the group had fallen into something of a pattern... The longest they stayed in one place was about a month, usually picking up some work in cafes or shops - nothing permanent, and nothing that required references of course. The necessity of cash in hand meant that they were paid less they knew, but it was a fact that they had to accept... Had Alex been there they might have set up new identities, but without him the others wouldn't have had a clue where to begin. Instead, they resigned themselves to below minimum wage pay, simply concentrating on being thankful they were alive.

When they could, the group got three rooms usually... One for either Max and Liz or Maria and Michael, the other two shared boy/boy girl/girl, by those remaining. Usually they'd hang around long enough to cover their travelling expenses, or until the waitresses etc that they were covering for came back, whichever came first...

Travelling had of course been a huge part of the routine... They liked to travel distances in bulk, and the van was often used for at least a few days at a time.

Things hadn't been great, but there had been something of a sense of normal... Things continued like that for about over a year, and then everything had fallen apart...

Since then, it seemed that all the group had been able to do was keep going...keep moving, because that was what they had to do... Max had closed himself off from them all, refusing to talk, and hardly seeming to care about anything... He was unshaven, his hair was lank and dull, but he just didn't care...

Max shook his head, running his hand through his hair and pulling it down over his face, hardly noticing as it caught on the rough surface of his unshaven face. "How can I be Izzy..." He responded, shaking his head again and dropping his head to stare at the photograph he held. 

Again she reached out, this time to touch the photograph... "You look happy..." She commented softly. Her brother and Liz might not have had a traditional wedding, but the group had managed to put together the important parts... A white 'dress', flowers...the rings - well Max had done that himself of course... There had been no doubt that the two of them had been happy...

For her, it had of course been something of a time of mixed emotions... She was delighted to see her brother so happy...to see the young couple doing what everyone had always known deep down they would... But then it also made her think about what she had given up... Jesse...her husband...the man she loved more than life itself... Liz had Max, and Maria had Michael... She just had her memories... She knew that Jesse would have come with her had she allowed him, but she couldn't do that to him... The moment they had left Roswell, they had been leaving behind their life as they had always known it... She couldn't ask him to do that too... He had a career...a life... He wasn't part of this, not like the others...

Still, there had been many times since they left that she had wondered what it would be like if he were there... Despite the fact that she had tried to give him back her rings at Graduation, she hadn't been able to take them off a second time... She knew perhaps she didn't have the right to wear them, but she couldn't help it...she needed to...

Happy...? Max nodded silently. That day had been the day of his dreams... The day he had never thought would come when he was younger... He had been walking on air most of the night before, and that day, seeing Liz looking so beautiful... Despite the fact that it might not have been as would have been planned, the day couldn't have been more perfect as far as he was concerned...there was only one thing that was important, and that was the fact that it was him and her... Nothing else could have spoilt that wonderful day... "We were..." He responded in a hushed tone.

So much had changed since then though... That day, twenty-nine days ago exactly, he had felt as though his life ended... So much had been taken from them, and now, he just didn't know if he had any fight left... What was the point...? Where was it getting them...? The FBI had taken their homes, their families from them... Tess had taken Alex, and now... He shook his head, wanting more than anything to believe that there was another explanation, that it had all been a mistake... 

Maybe if they had done things differently...? Or if he had refused to let Maria and Liz work there without one of the guys being present too...?

They had needed the money though... Both girls had said they were perfectly capable of coping on their own, and everyone else had accepted it... The guys had found some work at some of the bars, and Isabel was temping at a nightclub... When work just wasn't available for them together, the simple fact was that they couldn't afford to be picky... Although their powers could theoretically 'make' money, it was far too risky given all the security features they would have to duplicate. They had to earn their money, to earn enough to pay for the things that they needed...fuel, food, accommodation... They had been just about cleaned out at their last stop, and although originally had hoped to be able to stay a while to 'stock back up' as such, the surprise return of the waitress' Liz, Maria and herself had been filling in for put paid to that idea. Bridgeport wasn't ideal, being much smaller than usual, but it had been the next place on the map, and even by the time they got there, they had been in desperate need of funds... The jobs they had found hadn't been best, and no one had been keen on the fact all three girls were working without one of the guys nearby, but the fact was they needed the money...

"Max...?" It didn't take much for Isabel to guess what he was thinking. "This wasn't your fault...this wasn't any of our faults... We didn't know they were so close..." She tried to tell him.

Max pulled away from her arms. "We should have done though! We should have known, we should have moved on...before..." He trailed off, clearly close to breaking point, as he traced the face of the smiling brunette in the picture.

Isabel swallowed, watching him in silence. Max had always been the strong one...the one to turn to when things got hard... He had been the one they could rely on no matter what. He had been the strength of the group, and seeing him like this, she just didn't know what to do...she didn't know how to play that role... "Max...?" She reached for her brother again, causing him to look back at her. "Listen to me, we didn't know...we did our best, we did what we could..."

"It wasn't enough though...we were too late..." He shook his head again. "If we could go back, change what happened... Maybe there was another way...maybe it didn't have to happen that way..." He began to go over the decisions he had made over and over again. He had to have done something wrong... It wasn't meant to have happened like that... They had all looked to him for leadership, and he had failed them...

Sighing and shaking her head, Isabel ran her free hand through her hair, pushing it back from her face. For a while after leaving Roswell she had gone back to being a blond, then later moved onto a deep red. The style she had also lengthened, using something of 'alien persuasion'... It was a good disguise, but more than that, it helped her to move on from who she had been when she left Roswell...and that was what she needed...

She swallowed and bit her lip. "Please don't do this to yourself...this wasn't your fault..." She tried again. "You didn't know, you couldn't have known...none of us did..."

Her brother dropped the photo frame down on the bed and stood up. He walked over to the window, facing away from her to keep his sister from seeing the tears that hung in his eyes. "I'm the leader, I'm supposed to know!" He stated in a dead voice.

The leader... When they had been talking about leaving Roswell, he had said he was giving up the throne... That the decision had to be made by everyone individually... He had meant it... But that was when they were talking about all leaving separately... disappearing into the night one by one, or in a two in the case of Liz and himself... When it had come to it, and in the end they had left together, as much as he might not have wanted it, he found himself back in that now familiar position...the leader of the group... Whatever he said about not being the one in charge, everyone still looked to him to guide them, to decide what to do... Their locations were chosen as a group of course, but how long they could stay, when it was time to go...those were his decisions to make...and he had let them down...

"I let you down..." He repeated the words that were going over and over in his head out loud now.

Isabel looked up sharply. "NO! YOU DIDN'T!" She insisted. The tears, which now crept from the corners of her eyes, glistened in the light as she shook her head over. "You didn't let us down Max... You did what you could...just..."

"It wasn't enough..." Her brother finished off the sentence as she trailed off, certain that he knew what she was feeling. His voice was little more than a whisper now, and he refused to look at her, turning towards the window, although his sister was in little doubt that he wasn't looking out... 

"Oh Max..." She stood up, going over to him. She wanted to be able to tell him it would be okay...but right at that moment in time, she was having doubts it would be...

Her brother pulled back, avoiding her arms as he walked back over to his bed and grabbed the jacket that was lying there. "I'm going out...I'll be back in time for work..." He told her in a strangely calm voice before walking out of the room.

Isabel watched him go and then sank down onto the bed, holding her head in her hands. She just didn't know what to do.

"Isabel..." 

She looked up, hearing a knock on the door. Kyle was stood in the doorway.

She swallowed, forcing back tears which were threatening to flow and attempting something of a smile. "Hey..." 

Kyle shook his head, hardly fooled by her attempt and walked into the room. "I saw Max walk out...thought the room would be empty..." He commented, taking a seat next to her much in the same way she had with Max.

Isabel looked at him and shook her head. "No...I guess I just needed to sit a few more minutes..." 

He nodded. "How's he doing...?" He asked her gently, offering her his arm if she wanted it, but not pushing. He and Isabel were just friends...Jesse was still too fresh in her mind, shown by the rings on her finger, to allow for anything else, and he always left it up to her to set the boundaries...

Isabel was weary...she was tired and worried about her brother. She gave a slight nod, to convey thanks, as she gratefully allowed herself to relax somewhat into his arm.

Kyle tightened his hold just slightly, but still not so much that anything could be made of it... He was just a friend, offering comfort... Despite the fact that he had asked a question, he knew that she would answer when she was ready, and not once did he press, just waiting...

Even thought it was probably only a few minutes, Isabel felt as though they sat there an age. She continued to fight back the tears, which threatened to break through, and finally looked up at him. She bit her lip and shook her head. "Not good..."

Her simple response came as no surprise to Kyle, but at the same time he knew she needed to say it... They were all hurting, but Isabel was the one who perhaps could best understand how Max was feeling... She had been the one who had taken on the task of trying to keep everyone going, and he knew that she probably needed to accept a bit of support herself, as well as giving it... He nodded silently, waiting a moment and then turning his head to look back at her. "And you...?"

Isabel shook her head desperately. "Honestly Kyle...? I don't know..." She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back from her face once more even though gravity would cause it to fall back in seconds. She wondered about going short again...maybe at the next place they stopped...

Kyle noticed how she was gripping her hair. "Hey...careful, you're going to pull it out if you're not careful..." he told her, only half joking.

Isabel turned her head slightly and brought her hand down. She hadn't even realised what she was doing... 

"Isabel...seriously...are you okay...?" Kyle asked again. He knew okay might not be the best way to describe it, but she couldn't think of anything better right at that moment in time.

She pulled back from his arms, shaking her head again. "I just hate seeing him like this... I just don't know what to do..." She murmured over almost as though to herself.

Kyle nodded. "I know Izzy...I know..." He responded, for the first time being the one to reach for her as he pulled her back into his arms, rocking back and forth almost as one would rock a baby. 


End file.
